Land Degradation and Deforestation

Taxonomy Term List

Guatemala is vulnerable to frequent natural disasters. It’s not just the country’s geographical location that leaves it susceptible. Poor housing, high malnutrition and unemployment also compound the situation to make the country’s inhabitants more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with indigenous communities and farmers being among the most affected. In an effort to increase resilience, Guatemala developed a National Climate Change Action Plan (Plan de Acción Nacional de Cambio Climático, PANCC) that incorporates mitigation and adaptation priority actions. Some the activities that the country is looking to implement include: increase the production of grains, strengthen early warning systems for food and nutrition insecurity, and provide technical assistance to farmers on phytosanitary and zoosanitary measures.

Guatemala presented the Integrating Agriculture in the National Adaptation Plans project (NAP-Ag) on 30 November 2017 in Guatemala City. Under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA) the NAP-Ag project aims to strengthen the issues related to the adaptation to climate change in the country's agricultural sectors and strengthening of institutional capacities through the development or updating of policy and planning instruments at the national, sectoral and local level.

The 'Enhancing Sustainability and Climate Resilience of Forest and Agricultural Landscape and Community Livelihoods in Bhutan' ​project (2017-2023) will operationalize an integrated landscape approach in Bhutan by strengthening biological corridors, supporting sustainable forest and agricultural systems, and building the climate resilience of community livelihoods.

The project addresses concerns regarding the adverse impacts of climate change on rural livelihood security and poverty, and the effects of sector-led development practices on the ecological integrity of biodiversity-rich forested landscapes. Bhutan’s renewable natural resource (RNR) sector, which is made up of agriculture, livestock production and forestry forms a significant part of the national economy, as the largest employer with 58 percent of the working population, and with agriculture contributing 16.7 percent to the national economy in 2015. However, the RNR sector is very vulnerable to climate change impacts, which have been increasing as a result of heavy rainfall, drought, frost, hailstorms, windstorms and related land degradation.

In addition to climate-related losses, damage to crops and livestock from wildlife causes major production losses. Bhutan’s biodiversity resources are of regional and global significance and the preservation of intact, forested landscapes through the protected areas network and associated biological corridors is needed to sustain these values. However, climate change impacts and other anthropogenic threats such as land conversion, forest fires, infrastructure development and unsustainable agriculture are placing increasing pressure on biodiversity and the integrity of ecosystems in the country.

The long-term solution envisaged by the project is to ensure the effective climate resilient management of forest areas including biological corridors and adjoining protected areas, securing ecosystem services that underpin livelihoods, local and national development and climate change adaptation (CCA). However, there are several barriers that need to be overcome: 1) Insufficient institutional capacity for integrated landscape management (ILM) and CCA; 2) Insufficient capacity to operationalize the biological corridor system; 3) Limited capacity, awareness and support for building livelihood resilience; and 4) Inadequate knowledge on natural resource status, ecosystem services and resilient livelihood options.

The primary rationale for the selection of the project landscapes in the central belt of the country is based on the need to strengthen the ecological network connecting protected areas in the northern third of the country with those in the centre and south of the country – in other words, biological corridors that generally follow the alignment of river valleys and intervening ridges. This is of great importance for key wildlife species such as the tiger, leopard, snow leopard and elephant with large ranges. In particular, Bhutan is regarded as key source population for the tiger across the Himalayan range and this project will be of great significance in supporting national and global tiger recovery plans.

The project landscapes contain some of the finest representational samples of a continuum of ecosystems, connecting the largely subtropical zone of southern Bhutan and the predominantly sub-alpine/ alpine zone of northern Bhutan. These landscapes, with proper conservation management plans in operation and sustainable livelihoods in practice, will cushion the adverse impacts of climate change to key development sectors and local livelihoods and enhance the ecological resilience to changing climate and associated risks.

The primary global environmental benefits that will be delivered include the mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem service conservation and climate change resilient livelihoods over a landscape of 1,304,958 ha, some 75.3 % of which is under forest cover, 9.7% shrub cover, a mere 1.6% agricultural land (due to the rugged terrain), and the remainder meadows, rocky terrain and snow 13.4%. 176,400 ha lies in the four BCs and 324,405 ha in the three associated PAs, thus totalling 500,805 ha of land within the national protected areas system (including the BCs). This far exceeds the PIF target of 350,000 ha of globally significant landscapes under improved management.

The project’s climate smart agriculture and sustainable land management interventions will target SLM practices in at least 2,000 ha (some 10% of the agricultural land within the project landscapes), and SFM implementation will be supported over at least 100,000 ha of FMUs, LFMP areas and CF areas within the landscapes, in line with the PIF target. Sustainable forest management and forest conservation is anticipated to result in avoided GHG emissions of some 3,578,372tCO2 eq over 10 years, exceeding the PIF target of 3,084,953 tCO2 eq.

Expected Key Results and Outputs:

The project components can be summarized as follows:

Outcome 1:Enhanced institutional capacity for integrated landscape management (ILM) and climate change resilience: this component will focus on building institutional capacities for ILM as well enhancing climate resilience across rural communities. Specifically, it will incorporate biodiversity conservation objectives and safeguards and climate change concerns in the land use and natural resource use planning and management process, aiming to catalyse an economically and ecologically optimal land use mix and practices in the biological corridors and neighbouring landscapes.

Outcome 2: Biological corridor (BC) governance and management established and demonstrated with management linkage to adjoining PAs: this component will enable the RGoB to operationalize four BCs in the project landscapes through the development of climate-smart conservation management plans and the development of technical capacity and basic infrastructure, including strengthened biological monitoring and law enforcement systems and human-wildlife conflict management interventions to address threats including encroachment and poaching in conjunction with adjoining PAs in the project landscapes.

Outcome 3: Livelihood options for communities are made climate-resilient through diversification, SLM and climate-smart agriculture and supported by enhanced climate-resilient infrastructure: this component supports communities and service providers to enhance climate resilience of livelihoods by optimizing and diversifying production, adding post-production value and improving sustainable access to markets. In addition, it will demonstrate how climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation as well sustainable forest management objectives can jointly be addressed, creating synergistic impacts for sustainable local development.

Outcome 4: Knowledge management system established to support sustainable management of forest and agricultural landscapes and climate-resilient communities: through this component, the project will ensure that information and knowledge accumulated and produced within the project will be documented and made available for wider communication and dissemination of project lessons and experiences to support the replication and scaling-up of project results.

'UNDP-GEF to help Bhutan look beyond the climate-environment realm', ReliefWeb, December 14, 2016 - With support from the Global Environment Facility, UNDP and the Least Developed Country Fund, the government of Bhutan is now working to reduce climate change vulnerabilities and sustain community livelihoods and forests. The project will prioritize capacity development for forest and agricultural land management, biological corridor governance, climate-resilient livelihoods, knowledge management and monitoring and evaluation. The Royal Government expressed the project as being timely to deliver results against the Sustainable Development Goals 1 on Poverty, 13 on Climate Change and 15 on Life on Land.

The "Promoting Innovative Finance and Community Based Adaptation in Communes Surrounding Community Natural Reserves (Ferlo, Niokolo Koba, Bas Delta Senegal, Delta du Saloum) in Senegal" project will work to create financial incentives to cover the incremental costs of climate change adaptation and support capacity building for vulnerable households and community groups to build holistic responses to climate change.

With US$5.4 million in funding from the Global Environment Facility Least Developed Countries Fund, the initiative will assist Senegal to pursue a "transformational" pathway towards resilience. In the long term it will empower local institutions to provide adaptation services to vulnerable communities.

US$16.9 million (US$1.4 million Ministry of Environment and Finance proposed co-financing, US$6.5 million proposed UNDP grant)

Project Details:

The LDCF-funded initiative will assist Senegal to pursue a "transformational" pathway towards resilience. Under this approach, in the long term, local institutions will be able to provide adaptation services to vulnerable communities.

To achieve the project goals, changes in practices are needed, specifically to establish attractive funding mechanisms , linked to existing local financing systems, to cover the incremental costs of climate change adaptation, and to provide investments and capacities to vulnerable households and community groups for holistic responses to climate vulnerability and future changes.

The project will complement the existing baseline by promoting long-term planning on climate changes and facilitating budgeting and establishment of innovative financing mechanisms to support climate change governance at communes’ levels. More specifically, the project will review local development plans (including RNC plans) to (i) integrate climate adaptation priorities and resilience, (ii) set up innovative & sustainable financial mechanisms, (iii) improve the capacity of local credit and saving mutuals to finance adaptation projects and also the performance of local leaders in managing adaptations finances.

The response to climate vulnerability and changes will be oriented toward investing on the restoration of key livelihood resources (natural reserves, pastures, water points, etc.), establishing minimum community based early warning systems and sustaining climate-resilient agro pastoral and diversification activities. Target communities, local government leaders and other supporting institutions, will receive support to build capacity on climate change to inform improved decision making. This is critical for informing the design of feasible, credible and useful adaptation options and support.

This innovative approach allows local government to make changes to planning instruments that affect existing local developments by incorporating climate change considerations. Through the project, communities will have access to funding from a number of competitive grants (public & private) to address adaptation issues.

The coordination arrangement, involving policy makers, extension services, private sector and community based organisations, is a major innovation and will help to articulate institutional communication - both educational and social - at different levels.

The overall project will also generate socio-economic benefits at the local level by involving communities in the 203 villages (at least 50,000 households) in a much more transitional approach in the use of natural resources through the dissemination of practices, technologies and techniques, which are expected to improve the productivity and the resilience of agro-sylvo -pastoral activities.

Long-term benefits are also expected with investment aiming at restoring communities' "Natural Capital," and providing relevant climate information. In term of sustainability , the decentralized entities (councils and villages) will be empowered in implementing adaptation investments, strengthening community organizations in order to ensure that physical infrastructure and other investments are well managed and maintained after the project closure.

Capacity-building initiatives and awareness-raising will achieved through the social and environmental sustainability, and stakeholder involvement will be strengthened through adequate social mobilization and sensitization initiatives (workshops, forums, publications, community radios’ programmes, etc.). In addition, the knowledge base will be improved, and the project will define and implement an adequate system for knowledge management and information sharing.

The natural regions of Ferlo, Niokolo Koba, Bas Delta Senegal, and Delta du Saloum play a key role for livelihoods, as the communities are directly dependent on their natural assets, such as water, pasture, forests and fertile soil for a living.

Recognizing this richness, the communities of 203 villages established about 26 Community Natural Reserves (RNC) as well as nine credit and saving mutuals to improve the living conditions of households, specifically women groups.

However, with the effects climate change, both the natural capital maintained under these RNC and people’s economic assets will reach a tipping point. Indeed, in Senegal, droughts are the result of climate variability that more recently has manifested by a late onset of the rainy season, irregular spatial distribution of rains, and an early end to the rainy season.

Projections of mean annual rainfall averaged over the country show a trend towards decreases, particularly in the wet season. The drastic reductions in water availability at critical times (e.g. in the dry season or in drought years) and at critical locations (e.g. in the more populous areas or where livestock congregates) have direct and catastrophic impact on livelihoods of communities.

Natural grazing grounds in Niokolo Koba & Ferlo will be significantly diminished and livestock watering made difficult under climate change scenarios. This situation leads to localized conflicts between transhumant and sedentary communities, especially during the drought periods, when grazing grounds and water resources are particularly scarce.

Among other predictable impacts, climate change is also expected to result in a marked increase in the incidence and intensity of bushfires in Niokolo Koba & Ferlo. Fire can have catastrophic impacts on livelihoods, notably because of the importance of pastoral resources in target regions .

In Bas Delta Senegal , most of villages are facing a serious coastal erosion problem; the outer row of fisher folk houses has already been destroyed by the sea and thus abandoned by the population

Finally, in Saloum Delta, the reduction of water table leads to the salinization of agricultural lands. Many valleys in Saloum are now affected by salted water intrusion resulting from reduced rainfall and lack of appropriate storage under changed conditions. Under these conditions, the capacity of communities will remain weak to sustain current efforts in preserving natural capital and increasing economical capital.

The "Building Resilient Communities, Wetland Ecosystems and Associated Catchments in Uganda" project will support the Government of Uganda in the management of critical wetlands that are being affected by a changing climate. The project will restore wetlands and their eco-system services, based on the wise-use principles and guidelines outlined by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. It also supports sustainable land management practices and reforestation, resilient agricultural practices and alternative livelihoods for communities living in these areas. This support will reduce the pressures on the wetlands. Finally the project seeks to strengthen the climate information and early warning systems to support these communities to make climate-resilient decisions.

The impact of climate change, coupled with other human and environmental stressors, is increasing degradation of wetlands and their associated ecosystem services in Uganda. This is negatively affecting the livelihoods of the people living in and around the wetlands – around 4,000,000 people. In fact, over 80% of the people living adjacent to wetland areas in Uganda directly use wetland resources for their household food security needs. Given that wetlands are highly vulnerable to changes in the quantity and quality of their water supply, climate change will most likely substantially alter ecologically important attributes of wetlands and will exacerbate the impacts from human activity. On the other hand, the loss of wetlands could exacerbate the impact of climate change in as they provide fundamental services that contribute to mitigation of such impacts.

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Uganda, wetlands provide many important functions to the people, particularly in the context of food security. This is in addition to its role as a habitat for biodiversity that is also important for the economy. According to a recent 2013 study on the value of wetlands in Uganda, several market and non-market benefits are identified: “The market benefits include water for domestic use and watering of livestock, support to dry season agriculture, provision of handicrafts, building materials, and food resources such as fish, yams, vegetables, wild game, and medicine. The non-market benefits include flood control, purification of water, and maintenance of the water table, microclimate moderation, and storm protection. Wetlands also serve as habitats for important flora and fauna, have aesthetic and heritage values, and contain stocks of biodiversity of potentially high pharmaceutical value. Over 80% of the people living adjacent to wetland areas in Uganda directly use wetland resources for their household food security needs.” In addition to supporting food and water security, wetlands also support income generation and employment. “Of a total population of 34 million Ugandans, it is estimated that wetlands provide about 320,000 workers with direct employment and provide subsistence employment for over 2.4 million.”

Wetland health and resilience can easily be compromised by climate change impacts. Climate change models for Uganda predict that temperatures will continue to increase, and there will be changes in the seasonal distribution and amount of rainfalls, more frequent extreme weather events, and increases in the frequency of heavy rainfalls. Increases in temperature and erratic rainfall will result in more frequent and intense floods, droughts and heat waves, which will directly threaten wetlands and livelihoods that rely on its healthy ecosystem services. Hydrologic and drainage maps of the project targeted sites (the eastern and southwestern Wetlands Basin) indicate that most of the freshwater inflows pass through the wetlands and natural forests. These systems have played an integral role in maintaining the quality of water over the centuries. However, over the last three decades, climate change impacts, as well as other baseline (non-climate) issues such as excessive sedimentation and non-native species invasions, have resulted in substantial water quality deterioration.

Expected Key Results and Outputs:

﻿Output 1: Restoration and management of wetland hydrology and associated forestsUnder this sub-component, at least 760 km2 of degraded wetlands and its associated catchment will be restored and the lives of 500,000 people will be improved in selected districts of Eastern and South Western Uganda. The overall aim of the intervention is to restore the ecological and hydrological integrity of the wetland and support the development and implementation of a community-based framework for wetland management plans. This will help support climate risk management and resilient livelihoods through enhanced ecosystems services in the area.

Output 2: Improved agricultural practices and alternative livelihood options in the wetland catchmentThis output will target at least 150,000 farmers including those who currently do not have secure access to irrigation, land-poor farmers, women-headed households, and the landless, to build more climate-resilient livelihoods. Investments in small-scale rural infrastructure (shallow bore wells, drip irrigation, tilling tools) for agricultural purposes, especially on-farm water management infrastructure such as dams, canals, drip irrigation systems, as well as farming best practices and crop diversification will be implemented to realize high economic return given their coverage. In addition, the output will focus on technical skills training for employment in key economic sectors viable in wetland areas, such as tourism, health and construction. Most of the beneficiaries have very low levels of education and no skills that can help them find a job. Beneficiaries will be trained in specific skills with high employability potential (e.g. earth mover, driver, assistant nurse, reception clerk in hotels, desktop publishing).Output 3: Strengthening access to climate and early warning information to farmers and other target communities to support wetland management

Output 3: Strengthening access to climate and early warning information to farmers and other target communities to support wetland managementThis output will focus on strengthening access to reliable climate-related information and scaling up advisories for farmers and other target communities in the two wetland target areas, to improve the adaptation capacity of the entire population in and around the wetlands – around 1 million people. This will include the expansion of networks that generate and process climate-related data into relevant information to the scale and location of local districts, villages or communities, as well as dissemination of climate-related information/services, advisories and early warnings to communities. A strong focus of this output will be on delivering actionable climate-related information to communities, taking the form of agro-met advisories for agriculture, as well as the dissemination channels for making information available to the “last mile.”

The Government of Uganda and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have kick-started a new project on "building community resilience, wetlands ecosystems and associated catchments in Uganda." The new project, which is Uganda’s first Green Climate Fund-financed initiative, is a response to the Presidential Initiative on Wetlands. The project inception meeting held on 29 November 2017 marks the start of project implementation and comes after both entities signed a financing agreement in August 2017 for the project, which is intended to restore degraded wetlands, improve ecosystems, and strengthen climate information and early warning systems. The grant based project will target an estimated 4 million people who live in and around Uganda’s wetlands and rely on them for food security. It is part of both the Government Uganda and United Nations efforts to promote Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action as well as fulfil its obligations to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change which it ratified last year. “Fighting climate change and its effects is now a key goal for the Government of Uganda. We are delighted that this project is going to enable us to respond to the President’s call to protect wetlands and boost our ongoing efforts in climate change mitigation and adaptation,” Hon. Mary Goretti Kitutu, the State Minister Environment, said at the inception workshop for the project.

The Government of Uganda and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have today August 23 signed a financing agreement for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) project to restore degraded wetlands, improve ecosystems, strengthen climate information and early warning systems. Hon. Matia Kasaija, the Finance Minister signed on behalf of the Government and Ms. Rosa Malango, the UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator for Uganda signed on behalf of UNDP.

The Building Resilient Communities, Wetland Ecosystems and Associated Catchments in Uganda project will support the Government of Uganda in the management of critical wetlands that are being affected by a changing climate. The project will restore wetlands and their eco-system services, based on the wise-use principles and guidelines outlined by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. It also supports sustainable land management practices and reforestation, resilient agricultural practices and alternative livelihoods for communities living in these areas. This support will reduce the pressures on the wetlands. Finally the project seeks to strengthen the climate information and early warning systems to support these communities to make climate-resilient decisions.
The impact of climate change, coupled with other human and environmental stressors, is increasing degradation of wetlands and their associated ecosystem services in Uganda. This is negatively affecting the livelihoods of the people living in and around the wetlands – around 4,000,000 people. In fact, over 80% of the people living adjacent to wetland areas in Uganda directly use wetland resources for their household food security needs. Given that wetlands are highly vulnerable to changes in the quantity and quality of their water supply, climate change will most likely substantially alter ecologically important attributes of wetlands and will exacerbate the impacts from human activity. On the other hand, the loss of wetlands could exacerbate the impact of climate change in as they provide fundamental services that contribute to mitigation of such impacts.

The Harpan Watershed, Panchase in Nepal lies in the mid-hills of Nepal and consists of valleys, hills and the high mountains of the Himalayas. The economy of the Panchase is largely subsistence, based on crop production and livestock. There is high climatic variation due to changes in altitude and an average rainfall of 3, 355mm. The selected project site, the Harpan watershed, is about 15 km² with sub-tropical to temperate climate. There are about 900 households with a population of 4,598.

Through the global Ecosystems-based Adaptation (EbA) in Mountains Programme, UNDP, UNEP and IUCN, with funding from the German Government (BMUB), are using sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of an overall EbA adaptation strategy, to reduce the vulnerability and enhance the resilience of select fragile mountain ecosystems and their local communities to climate change impacts. The promoted EbA measures carefully take into account anticipated climate change impacts trends to ensure a forward-looking process.

Project Brief / Fact Sheet

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The Nepal Pilot Project of the global Ecosystem-based Adaptation in Mountains Programme aims to enhance capacity of local communities, demonstrate EbA measures for continued provision of ecosystem services, and support in strengthening the institutional capacity of key national Nepalese actors to build and better integrate ecosystem resilience options in national, sub-national and local level plans.

It is working to specifically support 4 outcomes:

Development of methodologies and tools for EbA decision-making in mountain ecosystems;

Application of EbA tools and methodologies at the ecosystem level;

Implementation of EbA pilot initiatives at the ecosystem level; and

Development of a business case for EbA at the national level.

In Nepal, the Project is implemented by the Department of Forests (DoF) under the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) and is coordinated by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE). Similarly, there are three implementing agencies: UNEP, UNDP and IUCN. EbA initiatives are concentrated in 17 VDCs (Village Development Committees) of the ‘Panchase’ region and covers three districts – Kaski, Syangja and Parbat.

Expected Key Results and Outputs:

Some key accomplishments for the project include:

The project has prioritized 3 important sub-watersheds – Rati, Saradi and Harpan - and focused on different interventions such as ecosystem restoration, water conservation, land rehabilitation, livelihood diversification and capacity enhancement of government agencies and local communities.

Practices, like water source conservation and construction of conservation ponds, have been initiated in the pilot sites to address water scarcity issues, since the water sector is significantly affected by climate change in Nepal. These initiatives have helped reduce drudgery in fetching water required for dominant rural livelihood practices, i.e. subsistence agriculture and livestock rearing.

Out-migration in Panchase has resulted in an increasing amount of abandoned and barren land. The Project has hence carried out plantation initiatives of endemic multi–use species to protect these lands from further degradation and also complement the needs of rural people for fuel wood and fodder. Additionally, the Project has supported nursery establishment in the region to provide easy access to seedlings species for plantations by the locals. Likewise, land degradation resulting from unplanned rural road construction has been addressed by roadside greenery promotion and roadside rehabilitation, using engineered structures such as ‘gabion cages’ that are supplemented by plantations. Similarly, several landslide and gully control initiatives have also been carried out in the project pilot sites.

Rangeland management has been done by building compound walls to halt over-grazing activities of the livestock and protect the grassland ecosystem from further degradation. The Project has also distributed fodder species to reduce the pressure on the open degraded land.

Several river bank conservation initiatives with application of grey-green measures, i.e. engineered structures coupled with bamboo plantation, have been carried out to protect agricultural lands in the river banks to reduce deposition of sediment downstream.

The Harpan Sub-watershed is an important feeder to the nationally important Phewa Lake, which today suffers from massive deposition of silt. The Project has, therefore, carried out a comprehensive study on the siltation process of Harpan Khola and subsequently proposed construction of ecosystem-based siltation control techniques and a siltation dam in the Harpan River.

The EbA concept has now been mainstreamed in Bachelors of Science (BSc) degree syllabus of the Tribhuvan University, Central Department of Environmental Science (CDES). Similarly, to reduce the research gap, EbA has provided research grants to the students of Tribhuvan University to undertake research work in the EbA site to investigate the effectiveness of EbA options.

The Project broadcasted radio programs named ‘Panchase ko Serofero’ through Radio barahi-99.2, Radio saligram-100.6 and Syangja FM-89.6, respectively, from Kaski, Parbat and Syangja to increase local level awareness on ecosystems and EbA.

Some policy-related accomplishments include:

Led by UNDP, the Nepal project has been engaged in the process of establishing the newly formed High-Level Technical Committee on EbA to be led by the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation. The main role of the Committee is to coordinate and mainstream ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation into different sectoral plans and programmes. The Committee includes representatives from various Ministries, such as National Planning Commission, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development. The first meeting of the Committee was scheduled for last week of September.

The results of the Cost-benefit analysis carried out by the Nepal project, led by UNDP, will be presented in a high-level event, organized jointly with the High-level Technical Committee, in October.

The new Forest Policy (2015) has climate change as one of seven thematic areas and includes EbA as one of the approaches put forward for adaptation. The project, led by UNDP, is involved in a working group developing a 5-yr action plan for the delivery of the climate change area of this Policy in all 75 Districts of Nepal. The project is providing direct technical input into how this key national policy will be implemented in practice with regards to climate change and making the case for integrating EbA measures into its delivery.

The Nepal project, led by UNDP, has provided technical and financial support to produce draft Guidelines on Protected Forests, which provide regulations and directives on managing Protected Forests and are in the process of being endorsed by Government. The proposed Guidelines incorporate EbA and provide the opportunity for integrating EbA into the national Protection Forest management plans and programmes.

Mount Elgon landscape in Uganda is the seventh highest mountain in Africa, a major catchment area and straddles the border between Kenya and Uganda. The climate is cool with a mean annual rainfall of 1,270 mm. The population of Mount Elgon is almost entirely rural and dependent on subsistence agriculture, with approximately 564,000 people living in the 4 districts which make up the project site. The region is home to Mt Elgon National Park and is of great conservation value, but high population density means that agriculture is spreading rapidly.

Through the global Ecosystems-based Adaptation (EbA) in Mountains Programme, UNDP, UNEP and IUCN, with funding from the German Government (BMUB), are using sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of an overall EbA adaptation strategy, to reduce the vulnerability and enhance the resilience of select fragile mountain ecosystems and their local communities to climate change impacts. The promoted EbA measures carefully take into account anticipated climate change impacts trends to ensure a forward-looking process.

This documentary highlights the need for mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation strategies into national policies to ensure that actions against climate change is planned for. It puts a strong emphasis on the importance of Government funding such measures into the future through core budgets.

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The objective of this Uganda pilot project under the global Mountain EbA Programme is to reduce the vulnerability of Uganda to climate change impacts through piloting Ecosystem-based Adaptation options with particular emphasis on mountain ecosystems in the Mt Elgon region.

It is working to specifically support 4 outputs:

The development of decision-making tools for ecosystem-based adaptation for assessing ecosystem resilience,

Field testing the tools in the pilot countries,

Making investments in and building capacity for EbA at select demonstration sites, and

Establishing the economic benefits and financial costs of EbA, to guide national policies.

The project is implemented by the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) focusing on the Districts of Sironko and Bulambuli (implementation supported by UNDP) and Kapchorwa and Kween (Implementation supported by IUCN).

Expected Key Results and Outputs:

Some key accomplishments for the project include:

A Vulnerability Impact Assessment (VIA) has been carried out to determine which EbA interventions can be used to support the communities in the selected project area.

About 600 households within the 4 districts (Kween, Kapchorwa, Sironko & Bulambuli) have received training in climate-smart interventions and are implementing them on their land. Local platforms including local radios are being used for knowledge sharing.

Different techniques in support of climate-resilient agriculture have been encouraged, including mulching, use of organic fertilizer, improved water retention through roadside drainage bunds, run off retention drains, diversion bands in crop gardens; and gravity flow irrigation (benefitting over 1,000 formerly water-stressed community members in 3 villages in Sanzara Parish).

Practices like soil and water conservation structures, have also been promoted, including contour trenches, contour ridges, retention or check dams, infiltration ditches and contour bands; tree planting for stabilization of soil and water conservation, with appropriate species together with contour grass strips; and the management and protection of existing forests and trees on the farm.

At the local governance level, structures for natural resource governance have been strengthened, including a schematic framework for managing a new adaptation fund in all the three catchments, including the communities and district technical staff.

The ECOTRUST PES facility being piloted by the project was officially launched in March 2015 by the Minister of Water and Environment, Hon. Ephraim Kamuntu. The Minister emphasized the contribution of the fund to many of the investment priorities identified in the National Development Plan of Uganda such as skills development, water and sanitation; and facilitating availability and access to critical production inputs especially in agriculture.

With support from the project, the Ministry of Water and Environment is developing guidelines on how to integrate EbA into national and district level planning and policies. This is a participatory process that has been done through training workshops and provision of tools. A specific training package on implementing EbA in Mt Elgon has also been developed, which provides step to step guidance on planning and implementing EbA aimed as a tool at supporting extension services

The cost-benefit analysis results and data generated will be used to advocate the case for EbA to government during a meeting of the Top Policy Committee of the Ministry of Water & Environment. This will then be followed up at during the Joint Sector Water & Environment Review (week of 5th Oct) being held by the National Climate Change Policy Committee and the National Environment & Natural Resources Sector Working Group.

The Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve in Peru is located in the Lima and Junin regions in the high Andean area of the upper Cañete and Pachacayo river basins. The reserve is a living landscape of significant conservation value, in which local communities maintain their ancestral ways in harmony with nature. The climate is variable due to altitude (between 2300 and 6000 metres above sea level) and annual rainfall varies between 500 to 1000 mm. The population living in the Reserve is confined to 12 communities with an estimated population of 10, 390. The main economic activity of these communities is agricultural and livestock production for local subsistence.

The Mountain Ecosystems-based Adaptation program (EbA) is a collaborative initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) (through its implementing partner, the Mountain Institute (TMI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Public Works and Nuclear Safety of the German Government (BMUB). In Peru, the programme is run by the Ministry of Environment of Peru (MINAM) and is implemented in the Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve (NYCLR), with support from the National Service for Protected Natural Areas (SERNANP, in Spanish).

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The objective of this Peru pilot project under the global Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in Mountains Programme is to reduce the vulnerability of Peru to climate change impacts through piloting EbA options with particular emphasis on mountain ecosystems in the Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve.

It is working to specifically support 4 outputs:

The development of decision making tools for ecosystem based adaptation for assessing ecosystem resilience,

Field testing the tools in the pilot countries,

Making investments in and building capacity for EbA at select demonstration sites, and

Establishing the economic benefits and financial costs of EbA, to guide national policies.

The project is a collaborative initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). In Peru, the programme is commissioned by the Ministry of Environment of Peru (MINAM for its Spanish acronym) and is implemented in the Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve with the support of the National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP for its Spanish acronym). The activities under IUCN’s responsibility are implemented in partnership with the Mountain Institute (TMI).

Expected Key Results and Outputs:

Some key accomplishments for the project include:

A Vulnerability Impact Assessment (VIA) has been carried out to determine which EbA interventions can be used to support the communities in the selected project area.

Three vulnerable areas have been identified in the NYCLR: Canchayllo, Miraflores and Tanta. Two EbA measures per area are being implemented.

Information from the VIA (Vulnerability and Impact Assessment) for the NYCLR is being incorporated into the updated version of the NYCLR Master Plan.

Support to both regional governments in Junin and Lima in the updating of their Regional Climate Change Strategies and the addition of EbA approaches to these tools.

A local Communication Network for the NYCLR has been developed by the project. 11 park rangers and 21 students of the NYCLR have learnt about climate change and how to use communication tools for their own development.

In Tanta, the community decided to free the Moyobamba area (vicuña natural habitat) of domestic animals to be an exclusive area for vicuñas.

Capacity building and technical assistance in livestock and vicuña management, including animal husbandry of vicuña population.

Installation of fences in 2000 hectares of communal land for livestock, and conservation of 1500 hectares of vicuña habitat.

In Miraflores and Canchayllo no regret measures are being implemented. In both places local villagers have become local researchers and have strengthen their capacity in pasture and water management.

In Canchayllo, a natural water reservoir dam was restored to reduce water filtration and ensure its storage during the dry season. Also, an underground pipe was restored to transport water from the upper part of the watershed (near Chacara Lake) to the community farm (Jutupuqio).

In Miraflores, a protection zone (5ha) was enlarged around the Yanacancha lakes encircling the upper micro-watershed in order to prevent cattle and other animals from entering the area.

Policy-related accomplishments:

In August 2015, Peru officially approved Policy Guidelines for Public Investment in Biodiversity and Ecosystems, with the expectation that this instrument will facilitate new and additional public investment aligned with the National Biodiversity Strategy.

Of particular interest is that the UNDP BIOFIN and the Peru Mountain EbA projects worked together since February 2015 in close coordination with the Ministries of Environment and Economy and Finance to facilitate the incorporation of climate change and specifically EbA into the guidelines. For example, the consideration of climate change as a cross-cutting issue is included as one of the Strategic Policy Guidelines (p6).

As next steps, BIOFIN and the Peru Mountain EbA project are collaborating in the design of a pilot Public Investment Project for the community of Tomas in the Nor Yauyos Cochas Landscape Reserve, as an opportunity to replicate EbA actions undertaken in Tanta and taking advantage of the political will and support of the Tomas municipality.

Following this, UNDP and other agencies will support MINAM and MEF in capacity building of local and regional governments and development of additional pilots, as part of an effort to expand the use out the guidelines at the national level. Technical support will also be provided to develop impact indicators to be used by MINAM and MEF of the biodiversity and ecosystem-focused PIPs.

The Peru Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) is currently being developed. The project team has contributed by reviewing the draft and providing recommendations on how to integrate EbA. The draft INDC includes EbA measures in its sector/system specific adaptation contributions for water, agriculture and forestry. The INDC even refers to the Mountain EbA Programme specifically as a key project that has contributed to the adaptation process in Peru.

Learning by doing: the construction of the approach and program EbA, Lunahuana, Cañete, 25 to May 30, 2015 - The third Global technical workshop on ecosystem-based adaptation learning for the Global Mountain EbA programme, which is running in Nepal, Uganda and Peru, was held. The workshop aimed to identify and assess the contributions that the program has made ​​in EbA mainstreaming in public policies and in building resilience and adaptive capacity of local populations.

Human wellbeing and livelihoods cannot be sustained without healthy ecosystems. Mountain ecosystems are particularly important, in that they maintain rich ecological processes and provide essential goods and services, especially water, not only to mountain people, but also to downstream lowlands where demand from population centers, agriculture and industry is high. These ecosystems, however, face severe threats from unsustainable land use practices (overgrazing and non-conservation agriculture), illegal wood extraction, development of large-scale infrastructure (dams, roads) and unsustainable natural resource projects (hydrocarbons, mining).

Climate change further compounds these threats by increasing levels of exposure to droughts, floods (which in turn results in an increase in landslides) and changes in seasonality. These impacts both undermine the resilience of the mountain ecosystems and increase the vulnerability of the local mountain communities, whose livelihoods and wellbeing depend on their services. Mountain people tend to be among the world’s poorest and most marginalized populations. Not only do many share the disadvantages of rural poverty and ethnic or religious discrimination. They also face additional challenges to subsistence brought about by elevation, rough topography and severe climate.

Through the global Ecosystems-based Adaptation (EBA) in Mountains Programme, UNDP, UNEP and IUCN, with funding from the German Government, are using sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of an overall adaptation strategy, to reduce the vulnerability and enhance the resilience of select fragile mountain ecosystems and their local communities to climate change impacts. It is a global partnership that involve national and regional government agencies, civil society and local communities in three pilot countries: Uganda, Nepal and Peru.

The Ecosystems-based Adaptation (EbA) in Mountains Programme is a global partnership jointly implemented by UNDP, UNEP and IUCN from 2011-2015, with funding from the Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). While global in scope, Uganda, Nepal and Peru were selected as pilot countries, due to their significant vulnerability to climate change, coupled with their endowment of fragile mountain ecosystems upon which a multitude of communities and economic activities depend.

The overarching Programme goal is to strengthen capacities of the involved governments and local communities to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience to the effects of climate change using EbA measures in targeted mountain ecosystems.

Expected programme results include:

New and field tested methodologies and decision-making tools for EbA, including Vulnerability & Impact Assessments;

Monitoring and Evaluation centered on ecosystem resilience; and

Capacities and knowledge of all involved stakeholders (national, district and local level government, local communities and civil society organizations) will be enhanced for planning and implementing both early action “No Regrets” and longer-term EbA measures through pilot activities in target mountain ecosystems.

​Based on evidence emerging from these processes, lessons will also be generated on how to use cost-benefit analyses to make an economic case for specific EbA measures. In close collaboration with key governments agencies, evidence and lessons will be generated on how to mainstream EbA into broader district and national policy and financing frameworks. These lessons can be scaled-up and shared as policy examples at regional and global levels beyond the three pilot countries. Overall, the resilience to climate change of targeted mountain ecosystems and their local custodians will be enhanced.

Expected Key Results and Outputs:

Outcome 1: Methodologies and tools for EbA decision making developed. The application of appropriate scientific methodologies and tools to assist decision makers on the effectiveness of the interventions is a critical ingredient of successful EbA approaches. In each pilot country, this outcome will finance a process that will assess, evaluate and develop appropriate methodologies for use in informing project adaptation actions. Additional results that will be generated include development of project baselines as well as comprehensive monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to monitor programme impacts. Indicators will be developed to specifically measure impacts related to ecosystem functioning and adaptive capacity.

Outcome 2: EbA methodologies and tools applied at ecosystem level. This outcome will finance the development of a capacity building approach that, in turn, will be used to apply the methodologies and tools developed under Outcome 1. In order to ensure sustainability in the use of the tools as well as ensuring that results from the programme are integrated in national processes, relevant stakeholders who were to be involved in the programme will be trained in the use and application of the tools.

Outcome 3: EbA pilot projects implemented in each pilot country and contributing towards ecosystem resilience and reduction of livelihood vulnerability in the face of climate change impacts. A number of EbA activities will be identified and selected for implementation based on the outputs of outcomes 1 and 2. In addition, 1) institutional roles and responsibilities for EbA will be agreed to by different stakeholders at all levels; 2) Institutional capacity of local governments and other key national institutions to plan, monitor and enforce EbA will be enhanced; 3) pilot projects focusing on water resources management and enhancement of soil conservation measures will be implemented; 4) market opportunities and access will be enhanced; and 5) lessons learned from pilot projects will be captured and disseminated.

Outcome 4: Business case for EbA at the local and national levels developed. To make an economic case for EbA, the project will identify and apply the best methods and practice for socio-economic evaluation of adaptation options. This will provide an economic justification for support from relevant government institutions for the use of EbA as a climate risk management strategy. To this end, i) an enabling environment for scaling-up EbA at national level will be created; and ii) information and capacities of key government stakeholders will be enhanced so as to integrate EBA into national development planning processes and climate change policies and strategies.

Outcome 5:New learning and knowledge on EbA generated. In early 2014, the scope of the Programme was expanded to include a new Learning and Knowledge Component. These new activities will strengthen learning about EbA at various levels namely 1) site level – i.e. the three pilot sites in Nor Yauyos-Cochas, Mount Elgon and Panchase – 2) country level (Peru, Uganda and Nepal), and 3) beyond (inter-country, regional and global levels). Systematization of generated information and learning wil be used by partners to generate new science, insights and messages that can influence policy and practice on EBA in mountain ecosystems and beyond. The application of methodologies and tools, combined with implementation of pilot activities, will enable the Programme to shorten the learning curve for local and national institutions, and fast-track the transfer of knowledge and experience in building ecosystem and social resilience to climate change.

Climate change and its effects on rainfall patterns and temperatures are exacerbating the vulnerability of rural communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Women in particular, who represent 60% of agricultural labourers and 73% of farmers, and produce 80% of food crops for household consumption, are at risk. Several dynamics make their adaptation more difficult such as lack of access to formal education, economic poverty, food insecurity, limited access to resources, etc. These inequalities increase women’s vulnerability to harmful climate change impacts while limiting their options for coping and adaptation.

The GEF-LDCF funded project, Building Adaptive Capacity and Resilience of Women and Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, seeks to support women and children through a community-centred approach to adopt and adapt livelihood strategies in innovative ways based on current and future climate changes scenarios.

Development of key capacities for undertaking climate resilient activities including training and engagement of women's groups in food processing, processing technology, maintenance of units, rural finance, marketing and organization strategies (Outcome 2.1); Engagement of women’s groups in adapted seeds production and diversification, soil fertility and water management activities (Outcome 2.2); Extending support to nearly 10 rural radio stations and 100 community volunteers as well as producers and staffs from extension services to analyse, interpret, produce and disseminate climate and weather information (Outcome 2.3) and; Establishment of community learning mechanisms through website, technical papers, video, technical forums, and other relevant media/social networks (Outcome 2.4).

The Africa Adaptation Programme was launched in 2008 by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) and with US$92.1 million support from the Government of Japan. The AAP was established under the Japan-UNDP Joint Framework for Building Partnership to Address Climate Change in Africa, which was founded at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in May 2008.

Over a 3 year period, concluding at the end of 2012, AAP instituted transformational changes in the 20 African countries in the areas of 1) long-term planning; 2) leadership and institutional capacity; 3) climate-resilient policies and measures; 4) innovative finance; and 5) knowledge generation and sharing. AAP’s support helped enhance the adaptive capacity of the AAP countries, promote early adaptation action and lay the foundation for long-term investment to increase resilience to climate change across the African continent.

Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change. It will exacerbate the economic, political and humanitarian stresses that countries in the region already face, and greatly reduce their capacity to eradicate extreme poverty. The poorest segments of society will be the most severely affected because they are also the least able to adapt. Responding to the threat of climate change will require concerted action on an unprecedented scale. Systematic action will be required across all levels of development planning and implementation (regional, national, sub-national, and local) if development in a number of countries is not to be reversed.

Some African countries have identified key vulnerabilities and priority adaptation measures, and others have initiated demonstration adaptation projects. However, countries continue to face a number of challenges including the following: (i) adaptation initiatives are limited in scope and scale, and their impacts are neither cohesive nor sustainable; (ii) institutional capacities, relationships, policies and practices to assess and manage climate change risks are not developed sufficiently to create an enabling environment, with corresponding political and social champions to support the formulation and implementation of efficient solutions to a problem that has complex multi-sectoral effects; (iii) limited knowledge of the most appropriate adaptation policies and measures hinders countries from preparing themselves with the necessary institutional capacities to support climate risk management; (iv) limited financing options to sustain scaled-up adaptation remains a constraint; and (v) it is difficult for countries to learn from each other about their experiences with different approaches to adaptation.

Expected Key Results and Outputs:

During the three years of its implementation (2010-2012), AAP laid the groundwork for an ongoing, dynamic adaptation process in harmony with each country’s social, environmental and economic priorities. In all 20 countries, AAP has nourished an environment in which decisions and activities in support of adaptation can be evidence-based, strategic and appropriate to the goals of sustainable development, resulting in long-term investment to increase resilience to climate change.

Strengthening Long-Term Planning Mechanisms

AAP’s Data and Information Management Component (DIMC) assisted countries to develop the infrastructure and capabilities needed to access, analyse and apply climate data and information for decision-making. Overall, over 10,000 people were trained in climate data analysis under AAP’s DIMC. AAP’s support under DIMC helped increase countries’ capacity to support vulnerability and risk assessments and use climate data and information to integrate adaptation into national development planning.

Building Institutional and Leadership Capacity

AAP assisted in enhancing professional leadership capacity and institutional effectiveness in countries by increasing awareness of climate change issues, developing multi-stakeholder approaches and implementing national adaptation strategies that address the needs of men and women equally. For example,under AAP, Kenyaestablished aNational Climate Change Secretariat to coordinate the different climate change focal points in key government ministries. Through this multi-ministerial coordination, Kenya has facilitated the National Climate Change Response Strategy and ensured adaptation interventions take a multi-sectoral approach.

Implementing Climate-Resilient Policies and Measures

AAP provided assistance to countries to implement policy measures that protect climate sensitive sectors and encourage private sector investment in adaptation, such as adaptation pilot projects and national climate change strategies. For example, Nigeria, with the support of AAP, adopted a National Policy on Climate Change and Response Strategy, which will ensure a coordinated approach to addressing climate change.

Innovative Finance

Under AAP, innovative financing options to meet national adaptation costs were expanded at the local, national, sub-regional and regional levels. For example, AAP supported Morocco to expand public-private partnerships to mobilise funds for future climate change projects in local communities. Through a public-private partnership developed through AAP, a solar lighting project was completed in a rural community. Additionally, AAP trained stakeholders to undertake cost-benefit analyses of adaptation options.

Generating and Sharing Knowledge

Through AAP, knowledge on adjusting national development processes to fully incorporate climate change risks and opportunity was generated and shared across all levels across all 20 countries. For example, the production and broadcast of television and radio segments (e.g. Burkina Faso, Mauritius, Namibia, and Tunisia) and documentaries (e.g. Cameroon, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal and Tanzania) effectively shared information and concerns on climate change adaptation.